Korea beats Jordan in Olympic soccer qualifier, 3-1

Jordanian soccer players kneeled down in unison to take a deep bow in the 45th minute just before halftime.

Mahmud Zatara got past a defender and scored on a turning shot. After scoring the game`s first goal, Jordanian players took a deep bow as if to thank God.

In their opening qualifier for next year`s London Summer Olympics Sunday at Seoul World Cup Stadium, the Korean Olympic team seemed to face a looming misfortune until that moment. Korean players were slow on offense and failed to pass accurately.

The opening goal was due to erroneous passes. Bae Cheon-seok and Ji Dong-won, who played in the forefront, were often isolated.

Coach Hong Myung-bo replaced Bae with Kim Dong-sup in the final minutes of the first half to turn the tide. Team Korea stepped up offensively from the midfield and grew more aggressive on offense in the second half.

Heightened tension among the Korean players after allowing the opening goal helped change the mood as well.

Kim Tae-hwan tied the score in the 54th minute with a diagonal left-footed shot with a cross from Yoon Suk-young. He also drew a penalty kick in the 75th minute that Yoon Bit-garam converted to make it 2-1.

The Korean team gained leadership, staged an aggressive offensive on the sides and center, and dominated the match. Kim Dong-sup added an insurance goal a header off a cross from the side in the 85th minute.

Korea`s 3-1 come-from-behind win was the first of two legs of the Asian preliminaries for next year`s London Summer Olympics. Korea will play the second game against Jordan Thursday.

Coach Hong achieved his objective of getting offensive as much as possible to score multiple goals in the first game.

bluesky@donga.com